"It's a question of lust / it's a question of trust / it's a question of not letting what we've built up crumble to dust"
{Scott}
He knew she wanted Logan. He lived every day with the fear that she'd act on it -- the desire that sparked between them. He used to try to be everything to her, but he learned, the hard way, that no one person can ever be everything.
She was free to choose -- she always had been. Once, she'd chosen him and made him the happiest man on earth. Now, he watched as she struggled, weighing his familiar, comfortable love against the fierce and untamed desire Logan represented.
He found himself watching the man, watching others' reactions to him, and wondering at the ones who seemed unmoved. He found himself wondering why Ororo could so easily brush Logan's advances aside, and yet Jean seemed unable to do so; even her dismissals contained a hint of acquiescence.
He was startled the day he found himself wondering if Ororo would respond to his advances, and what the results might be like.
He brushed those thoughts aside. He was happy with Jean, and if Jean chose someone else -- well, he wouldn't think about that either. He, who thought and planned and plotted out every course of action in his teaching and his work as an X-Man, was learning to go with the flow and not borrow trouble in his personal life.
He often saw her watching Logan, weighing the possibilities in her mind. When she turned away from the window that day, he knew she'd made her decision and his heart sang. There would always be a hint of fear, but he knew he could trust her and love her. He had asked the question, and she had finally answered.
He took her upstairs and made love to her repeatedly, until her mind and body could contain thoughts of no one but him.
The devil she knows.
{Rogue}
She loved him. She didn't even try to hide it anymore. And she watched, heart in her eyes, as he and Jean circled each other in their mockery of a mating dance. She watched as Scott learned to let go and trust, and she hoped his trust was well-founded.
She knew, in the depths of her soul, that Logan loved her. She'd seen it in his actions, in his thoughts. She also knew that he was terrified of being tied down or caged in any way. She accepted that. She wondered when he'd realize that her love would never constrain him -- that he'd be free to be himself, that everything he was, was dear to her because it was him, and she loved him.
She resigned herself to waiting and watching, learning everything she could from him, slipping under his skin and waiting for the day he realized that, fears aside, some things are as inevitable as the sun rising in the east or the tides crashing to the shore.
Remy pursued her, and she allowed herself to be caught. She trusted that when the time was right, everything she'd learned would come into play, and she would get her chance with Logan.
In the meantime, she allowed herself to have fun with Remy, knowing he offered nothing more than a good time along the way to her final destination.
She watched, and that day, she knew Jean's decision had been made. She couldn't say exactly how she knew, but she saw the look on Scott's face as they walked down the hall to their room, and she knew. The only question left now was when Logan would know, as well.
She sat at the window in her bedroom, watching Logan mow the lawn. When Remy found her, she said, "I think we need to talk."
"The time has come?" he asked.
"Not now, but soon."
He smiled and pressed her gloved hand to his lips. "I trust your instincts," he replied. "Let the games begin."
Logan would never know what hit him.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Dot, Meg, Jen, and Pete. And I guess, thanks to Depeche Mode. Saw 'em in concert and woke up with this.
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